In a networked office environment, print jobs are queued on a network server before being passed to a device for printing. New printers and Multifunction Peripheral (MFP) devices also include queue for storing print jobs. Because there are two different queuing points in the same job stream, there is no way for a user or administrator to effectively view and manage the jobs or both queues at the same time.
Currently a user has to use separate programs with separate User Interfaces (UIs) to manage jobs on the network server and on the peripheral device. A network queue on the network server is typically managed using Network Operating System (NOS) software tools such as created by Novell or Microsoft. A device queue on the peripheral device is typically managed using vendor specific application software that uses a proprietary or standardized network protocol such as Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)/Job Management Information Base (MIB) or Internet Printing Protocol (IPP).
None of these user interfaces can manage more than one job queue at the same time. Thus, a user cannot effectively manipulate the scheduling of jobs from multiple job queues. The present invention addresses this and other problems associated with the prior art.